Prepare Milkweed Plants for Monarch Eggs- Raise The Migration

Welcome back to Raise the Migration 5, where Monarch Enthusiasts are coming together together to boost the struggling monarch population. Let’s raise and release butterflies to keep the magical monarch migration alive for future generations…every monarch counts in 2017!

Your Eggs-citing Monarch Adventure is about to to Begin…

If you haven’t seen the raising supply list, please refer to it now to insure you have everything you need to get started.

If you can’t access the supplies you need, just follow along and make adjustments or use these raising tips for future monarch generations.

In case you forgot, my name is Tony Gomez and I’ll be guiding you through this 30 day transformation. This page was posted on August 12, 2017. Remember that you don’t need to follow along in real time…

I’m starting earlier than I normally would so you’ll never have to wait or proceed into unchartered waters. Most of monarch territory still has plenty of time to raise migration monarchs.

For the past few seasons, we have placed tropical and swamp milkweed containers on our raised beds, in garden carts, and other various places in hopes of attracting gravid (mated) monarch females…it works!

In fact, it worked a little too well in late summer 2012 when we got 53 eggs on just two potted milkweed plants…in one weekend!

We stopped raising monarchs on potted plants because of hidden predators and declining plant health indoors…but milkweed container plants are still a fantastic tool for attracting monarch mamas:

Before: Predator ParadiseAfter: Prepared for Eggs-tion

Start preparing a few milkweed plants 1-2 weeks before you want monarch eggs

Water thoroughly every few days at the base of your plant(s) to keep leaves hydrated. Water more or less depending on your local precip

Swamp Milkweed and Tropical Milkweed are two of your best options because they grow well in pots and are easy to transplant. They are also favorite egg-laying milkweeds for late season monarchs.

There tends to be a higher concentration of milkweed predators inside a patch. Lone milkweed plants usually get less attention from pesky monarch-munching predators.

Keep an eye on your plants while you’re waiting for eggs. If you find ants, stink bugs, spiders, tussock moth caterpillars, or foreign eggs remove them. These should remain monarch-only milkweed plants while waiting for eggs.

note: You do not need to pot milkweed, but I often find eggs on ours and have heard similar reports from others. If you have lone milkweed plants that have seeded in your garden, those are a good alternative option to container plants!

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH RAISING ON POTTED MILKWEED

Predators and pests can be hiding in the plant or on the container

Heavy containers can accidentally wound or kill monarchs

Soil can become moldy, collect frass (poop), or have disease spores/pathogens

Difficult to effectively clean/rinse an entire plant

Plants put out/maintain healthier growth outdoors

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO POTTED MILKWEED PROBLEMS

Leave potted milkweed outside

Collect stem cuttings with eggs off potted milkweed to bring inside

Collect individual leaves with eggs off potted milkweed to bring in

If raising on container plants, check for predators multiple times

Milkweed Cuttings

Stem cuttings are, in my opinion, the best way to raise healthy monarchs because the milkweed stays fresh longer and cuttings keep the caterpillars from crawling around in potentially disease-causing frass. (poop)

You can also space out cuttings in a cage, which you can’t do using whole plants.

Since these will come from your garden plants (or another outdoor area) make sure your milkweed looks healthy and isn’t being overrun by predators or pests. Otherwise, you’re unlikely to collect a monarch deposit.

A good way to insure you have ‘clean’ milkweed for future seasons, is to diversify your milkweed species and plant several patches around your yard and garden. Predators and pests won’t be able to find them all!

Milkweed Cuttings can range in size from 1 leaf to 2 foot stalks, and what you use will depend on the height of your cage and cutting containers.

Note: I realize many of these options aren’t native, but most native milkweed looks pretty scraggly by season’s end. Tropical milkweed and balloon plant are our last milkweed plants with viable leaves for the caterpillars and the late summer favorites for egg laying.

As long as the milkweed is healthy, any variety can be used to feed your caterpillars.

WHAT IF THE ELFS (EGG LAYING FEMALES) DON’T COOPERATE?

Unfortunately, the decline in the monarch population means monarchs are no longer a sure thing in North American butterfly gardens. I still believe that if you put the time into improving your butterfly garden, they will eventually come…but that doesn’t mean a predator won’t find the eggs/caterpillars before you do.

BUYING EGGS AND CATERPILLARS

For those of you who want to insureyou’ll be raising monarchs, there are a few options for buying monarchs. These options are only good for those who live east of the Continental divide. These vendors aren’t allowed to ship further west due to USDA regulations. Monarch egg/caterpillar vendors are on the supply list.

And now comes the hard part: waiting for your monarch eggs to arrive by air…or airmail!

Please read through the comments below for more info about Preparing Milkweed Plants for Monarch Eggs. For further assistance raising healthy butterflies, a ✬✬✬✬✬ rated PDF download on How To Raise More Monarchs, with Less Effort is available for purchase HERE

Comments

I live in central Michigan, and have about 15 milkweed plants growing in my yard. They are at this stage , tall plants with no indications of further growth. Can I attach caterpillars. or whatever,to those plants to attain butterfly growth?
Thank you.

Hi Charles, if you are growing common milkweed (asclepias syriaca) it’s probably too far past its prime to attract egg laying or sustain monarchs. Swamp milkweed is a native that usually has more viable leaves if you have had normal to above rainfall over the summer.

If you aren’t able to find viable milkweed for this years raise, consider fall planting swamp milkweed plants or seeds to get a head start on next season. You could also plant tropical milkweed plants next spring or start seeds indoors over winter.

Thank you for your reply, but I still have a question. Is there anyway that I can use my 50, 4′
asclepias syriaca plants? I read where they are the best plants to attract Butterflys. I would like to do something with them, since I have nursed them all summer.

Charles, I love common milkweed and it’s an excellent plant for monarchs through the beginning of August. After that, the leaves start to get extra leathery and also develop leaf spots. If these are first year plants, they might still be fresh enough. The only common milkweed we ever get eggs on at this point are ones that I cut back earlier (that put out fresh foliage) and plants that were growing in shade and are behind in their growth cycle.

I’ve seen several females laying eggs this week on my A. currasvica and A. physocarpa. So exciting! I’m anxious to read your upcoming post about raising cats from eggs. I normally wait for the eggs to hatch and then bring in the cats because I find it easier. But I’m going to bring in eggs this year to prevent loss to predators. Hopefully your instructions will help me be successful.

Thanks for what you are doing. Hopefully we can make a significant impact to the Monarch population.

Dana, that’s fantastic. I have actually been bringing in lots of caterpillars this season (as opposed to eggs). While the success rate has been good, there are more unexplained deaths and those parasitic tachinid flies can get to the caterpillars and you’ll never know until they’re about to pupate. Thank you for joining us, and I hope you have lots of success raising migration monarchs!

Hi Thomas, the best way to make sure aphids don’t take over your milkweed patch is to have several scattered around your yard/garden and try to plant a few different species if possible….they won’t find them all! If they still try to take over your butterfly garden, this post that reveals 7 ways you can stop them:

Cheri, many of the monarchs that hatch over the next two weeks will still be mating this year. In Minneapolis, I typically see mating through the end of August. Monarchs that are in reproductive diapause will head south. However, not all monarchs go into diapause at the same time.

Tony,
Went out and found 14 eggs. Using the hatching them in a plastic bag and feeding til they get to a bigger size as I did last year with good results. I have found only 3 cats all season long, 2 were visible and the other almost microscopic. Have released 7 already and here is hoping to lots more.
Brian in Ossian

Hi Brian, 14 eggs is a nice bounty from your treasure hunt. Remind me again, are these ziplock bags you seal shut and they hatch ok…they get enough air? Did they all survive using this method? Thanks for sharing. I enjoy hearing about what works well for others in the community.

Brian, I saw your note and decided to answer. I have successfully raised eggs on leaves in a small baggy. I just make sure it is puffed up with air and open it at least once a day. You could use another more successful method by gently removing the egg from the leaf with a wet finger and then place the egg in a small plastic bowl with lid. All you need to do is put in fresh leaves as needed and when the egg hatches, the caterpillar climbs onto the leaf to eat.

Had my first and second Monarch come out this morning ,both males. Will release them when it’s sunny tomorrow .
Also my grandson found six eggs while we on vacation,just tiny little fellows right now .
Hope to find a lot more eggs soon.

“Flutterbyacres ” My Waystation is ready for all the Monarch’s to lay their eggs .
Judy

Dear Tony,
We live north of Detroit. We have released three of the monarchs we raised from eggs in aquariums inside a net enclosure we bought for butterfly rearing. We’ve been putting the tank with the eclosing chrysalides on the deck and it’s been warm and sunny. It’s going to rain the next two days and we have 17 chrysalides that could possibly eclose then.
What do we do? How long can they go without feeding? I don’t have a lot of cut flowers to put in the tank. Do we buy a plant of lantana and put it in the tank? How does the sponge feeding work?
Thank you!
Linda
ps We also put pots of fennel, parsley and rue in a cluster on the deck after the female black swallowtails laid eggs and enclosed it with screen to protect the cats from yellowjackets. We have about 20 black swallowtail cats and one monarch chrysalis we found in the milkweed garden inside of that. Yay us!

If you have chrysalises in the sun in a glass tank, make sure they aren’t getting too much direct sun or they could melt. This started to happen to one of mine in our 3-season porch when I had the transparent plastic side of the mesh cage turned toward a south facing window.

Monarchs typically don’t hatch on days when they can’t be released. I always say they should hire monarchs to do the weather! There will likely be a window of opportunity to let them go if they do hatch. Otherwise they will be fine without food for 24 hours. If you have them longer, take cuttings of nectar flowers and put them in a vase. I will be covering adult feeding in detail later on.

As far as ordering eggs, I ordered from the Butterfly Lady in July. Still waiting for them, e-mails have gone un-answered. In the meantime my MW is looking pretty sad. Did buy some cats from a butterfly farm in the area. They were healthy and fat. Released 4 Monarchs this week. An amazing experience. Can’t wait till next year, plan on breeding.

Hi Dorothy, if you are on facebook you can try contacting her through Butterfly Lady facebook page. Suzanne is on a peace corps mission currently, but her husband is still filling orders. Congrats on the monarchs you released and good luck with breeding…

I find your comments about releasing Monarchs when inclement weather is a possibility interesting. There is a slight chance it may rain/thunder showers this afternoon but almost a certainty tonight and all day tomorrow. I have one who eclosed at 9:10 am today and wonder if I should release her this afternoon or hold until Tuesday? It also looks like I will have two more tomorrow. To date I have released about 65 with 14 more to go. I haven’t had any new eggs for almost two weeks. Also, I gather the eggs as soon as I see them (and check about twice a day) and have had an almost 100% success rate the last few years. The only casualties I have had were with cats I found outside that were affected by the tachinid fly. Thanks for all your tips! Waystation 7021 (Thunder Bay, Ontario)

Tony,
Yes , I collect the eggs on milkweed leaves and place the leaves in the ziplock plastic bags and leave the ziplock partially open and have had a great hatching rate and leave the little guys in them till they get bigger to handle and advance them to other containers that they can’t squeeze their way out of and have lost just a very few in the process.
Brian in Ossian

Hi JoAnn, I worry more about cold than rain. I had the sprinkler on for 45 minutes yesterday and a male monarchs sat on a flower getting sprinkled the ENTIRE time. I went up to him to see if he was ok when I turned it off and he took off to the sky immediately. Once a monarch can fly, it will have no trouble finding shelter from the rain.

Hi Tony ~ it has been a great summer for me with the monarchs until this last week. I have already raised and released over 350 monarchs here in Central Wisconsin, but this last week I started losing the cats when they were getting to the chrysalis stage. They would begin to make the chrysalis but then would die. It is not the tachnid fly because there is no white string hanging or maggot.

Hi Kathy, you are dealing with a monarch virus, bacteria, or OE. At this point, I would try to take a short break so you can disinfect your cage with a 5-10% bleach solution. Allow the cage to thoroughly dry, and then make sure all milkweed going in has been thoroughly cleansed. Congrats on all your success this season!

If you have tropical milkweed in ground what is the best way to disinfect the plant to prepare it for the next season? We are going strong here in so cal but I just had a cat in a j position die out. It was in a horrible spot (screen door) so I’m not sure if OE or stress did it. I usually cut down the plant in September to within a few inches but was wondering if there was anything else I should do

Fascinating ideas on preparing the milkweed for the migrating monarchs. Fortunately, here in Ohio a couple of my swamp milkweed plants are still pushing out new leaves. I’m going to give it a try with a couple of the tropical milkweed plants I have.

Hi Chris, glad to hear your swamp milkweed is still pushing out new leaves. With the tropical, I think the most important thing to remove is the blooming flowers because if there are a lot of other pollinators on it the monarchs will probably bypass it for one with less traffic. Leaving smaller ‘buds’ is good because they like laying eggs on/in those. Even pods will get eggs every now and then. Good luck!

I have 4 potted tropical milkweed plants and I have noticed that some of the leaves have been turning yellow and falling off. Also, I have noticed black spots on the underside of some of the leaves. Is this something I need to worry about?

I currently have 3 cats that I have taken off the milkweed and brought in the house. They are still in the first instar – should I find other milkweed to feed them and save my tropical milkweed for new eggs? I don’t have any other milkweed in my yard but I can find some in a field near my home.

Karyn, this is not uncommon for tropical milkweed later in the season. If you pull off and discard spotted/yellow leaves and cut back unhealthy sections of the plant, that’s usually enough to solve the issue. The spots may be a leaf fungus caused from overly moist conditions. Try watering at the based of the plant to prevent the fungus from coming back.

If you want to save your tropical milkweed, pick the healthiest leaves you can find in the field. Rinse them off, and then store them in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. When you want to serve your baby cats, take out a leaf, rerinse and serve!

This is the first year my common milkweed has had so many eggs. I just have to go right into my backyard and pluck the leaf off. I keep them in a tupperware container with small holes at the top and keep it moist by putting moistened paper towels underneath. I have hatched 18 cats so far. When they hatch, I move them into another container with fresh milkweed. I think some of them will spin late enough in August that they can be tagged. I am very excited since this is my first year tagging!! My kids are excited, too 🙂

I love your passion Tony, thanks so much for sharing this adventure. Early this summer I had my first experience . . . I brought 6 caterpillars inside. No cage, just a plant in an open basket. They all transformed into butterflies while I watched. Such fun! Since then I’ve tried again twice with quite a few small caterpillars and they have all died at various stages. It’s very sad, the only consolation is that if I had left them outside in the patio they probably would have come to the same end, as none seem to survive there either, they die or just disappear.

I’m not sure what the problem is. The last milkweed I bought was raised by the nursery themselves from organic seeds. Along with questions about the cause, here’s a more specific one: if I start new plants from cuttings and the original plants have been treated with systemic chemicals, will the cuttings also be tainted? I presume that new plants from the seeds of treated plants would be OK? (I’m in So Cal and have tropical milkweed.)

Hi Gaye, and welcome to Raise the Migration! Congrats on your early success. You had VERY well-behaved caterpillars your first batch if none of them crawled away. That is not common, but I’m glad to hear it worked for you. Caterpillars can die because of pesticides, diseases, and more commonly predators. Since you are in southern cal you have plenty of time to raise. You might try cutting your milkweed back to about 6 inches and let it grow back. If the plants have been treated that should greatly reduce chemical levels if not eliminate them. Follow along with Raise the Migration 2, then use the tips and techniques after your milkweed has grown back….the advantages of living in so cal!

Wow the itty bitty babies are hard to deal with and keep track of. I think I have lost one or three out of twelve during container cleaning and fresh leaf/cutting swaps. 🙁 Potted plants in a mosquito net or something would definitely be better.

But I do know that even less would have survived had I left them all outside as it seemed many of the earlier generations this summer did not (predators and disease).

Well I knew that and the containers are generally secured (two overlapped layers of cut out old window screen on top of a plastic container). I can’t rule out that one got away but it’s also possible that I just missed one or two on a dying leaf I needed to get rid of. Though I took my time and was very careful. It would be overall better to not have to mess with the milkweed when they are this young.

Also, though it’s not the norm, I have discovered that sometimes they will fall off the leaf at the slightest nudge. Maybe all legs not secured at that time or something. I dropped one this way in the garden planter box the other day. Hope he found his way back to a plant, sigh.

Hi Tony,
Thanks so much for this site. It is really informative. My question is: 2 of my cats have just left the milkweed plants (I am keeping them in my home). They traveled to another plant nearby and now are just hanging and relaxing there. I put bridal netting around them and the plant so they won’t escape. Are they ok to be on another plant and what do I do now? I am new to this and a bit nervous.

I would leave them alone for now as may be trying to molt but after a day or so you may need to help them back to the milkweed or at least put some leaves near them there so they can eat. One of ours outside earlier in the summer ended up on some sage in the garden but found his way back to milkweed eventually.

so I’m understanding, you are raising monarchs on potted plants inside, but they are not in a cage? What plant did they crawl on to?

If they are large cats and ready to pupate they are fine. If they’re smaller, I would move them back by gently picking them up between your thumb and forefinger, using a small soft-bristle paint brush, or the side/tip of a milkweed leaf. Caterpillars need to be raised inside an enclosure or they will eventually crawl away…many times before they are ready to form a chrysalis.

Well I didn’t lose one yesterday as I thought I may have; miscounted is all. But I may have when we first brought them in as they were so small and we had like ten.

However then this morning I found one relatively large one on top of a cutting I was keeping alive in a jar of water! Yes, thankfully he did not fall and drown. I can’t believe it as we checked it again and again. They are really good at not being seen, I tell you, and the lesson here is never throw away any milkweed cuttings, wilted or not, period. I am just putting them aside in some other container until they turn to dust from now on.

Hi Tony,
I filled the bottom of my mesh pop up with mulch to help stable and control poo-poo. It’s too heavy to bring inside when the temperature drops, I live in Michigan and we did have a low of 55 . I thought it was ok for them outside, because they would be outside if I didn’t collect them. Will the lower temperatures slow down their growth and lengthen their time in the chrysalis? Thanks, Stephanie

Hi Stephanie, a low of 55 should be no problem, but it could delay them slightly…nothing to worry about. Monarch metamorphosis can take as little as 20 days and as much as 32…or more! Much of this is temperature related.

Hey Tony I had my first issue with an indoors cat. One crawled up top yesterday and proceeded to hang in the J which I found a little surprising as I have a couple a couple that are much bigger. But then this morning we saw a white larvae exit his body on a string. Tachinid? We killed the larvae and tossed the dead cat…are my others at risk somehow from that one still? Not sure when the fly would have laid the eggs on it either; we brought them all in quite young.

I’m not sure where tachinid flies are most prevalent, but most of the caterpillars I bring in Minnesota (over 85%) have not been parasitized. Don’t worry about the caterpillar you discarded making the others sick. This only happens when a fly lays eggs on your caterpillars. You are usually safe bringing in small caterpillars (instar 2 and smaller) but sometimes it happens. I hope the rest are ok.

Hello, please help? What fully grown potted plants can I purchase to put on my deck for the butterflies. I noticed butterflies searching along my back fence for the milkweed plants my condo ‘cleaned out’ (wiped out) along a fence. Butterflies (including monarchs) have been stopping by here for years. I’m a newbee but would really like to help these beautiful travelers find what they’re looking for in southeast Michigan in August. Looking for a quick easy temporary fix. Over the winter I will research something more permanent for next Spring.

hi Tami, you are most likely to find potted tropical milkweed in a nursery. Please make sure the plants have not been treated with pesticides. The butterflies would likely use them as a nectar source, but you are getting down to the final days for receiving potential eggs. Good luck!

Barbara, if the flowers are heavily infested with aphids then you can cut them off. The monarchs generally avoid laying eggs on aphid infested plants. Aphids mate and lay eggs in the late summer/fall so disposing of them now should cut down the numbers for next season.

hi. we just found 9 monarch caterpillars in our backyard. we planted some milkweeds a while back but actually thought that they were dying. can we turn the sprinklers on? Not sure how to keep them healthy.
thanks!

Hi Kate, I’m going to assume you are talking about tropical milkweed…if it’s all that’s available I would use it. After they have all pupated, I would cut the plants back to about a foot so healthy growth can emerge for next season. If your milkweed doesn’t look healthy, you could try buying from a nursery, but if the milkweed has been treated with pesticides it will kill the caterpillars. good luck!

PS There shouldn’t be any issues with watering tropical milkweed with a sprinkler. If your region is humid, you could always hand-water at the base of the plant.

I live in SE TN and have about a dozen milkweed plants which have done well all summer. The pods are splitting with seeds, what should I do with them. Can I plant the seeds? Also several plants have small caterpillars that bunch together, a re these monarch caterpillsrs? I have a pic but don’t know how to send it to you. Thanks.

Hi Mary, as soon as the seed pods start to split open the seeds are ready to harvest. You can plant them in fall or wait until next spring. Most milkweed varieties will require a cold moist stratification before planting for a high germination rate. Here’s more info about harvesting seeds:

All I have available in my little yard is a 40 X 40 foot wildflower garden – mostly coneflowers and black eyed susans – wasting my time and money to just toss a ton of milkweed seeds into this field in spring and see if any of them come up and win the competition? Frankly I don’t have the time and energy (motivation) to grow them up in pots and transplant them.

Hi John, if you don’t want to mess around with seeds you always have the option of buying plants, which are a quicker more reliable way to get things growing. You sound like you are just starting your garden so you might find this post helpful:

Hi, I’m really new to this whole new butterfly garden hobby and I’m still learning. I bought a milkweed from a local nursery and it had orange and yellow flowers blooming on top and looked very healthy. And then I bought another one when I was at Home Depot that had no blooms but was very green and full and healthy. I have had them for a week but haven’t repotted them yet but after 2 days of having them I read up on them and found that they are drought resistant. But I thought they needed full sun. So for the past week they have been looking bad wilting looking and some leaves everyday are turning yellow and falling off , so i had stopped watering them and they still look bad. What do I do???
Please Help
Becky

Hi Becky, I would plant them or repot them. It’s possible they are root bound and need more space. Before you make decisions on how to care for your plants, I suggest you find out which species they are since that will guide your decisions going forward. It sounds like you probably have tropical milkweed from your description:

I have a LOT of milkweed seed & how do I cut away the seed without making a fuzzy mess? I am in Minnesota, so too cold to do outside. Sorry, but I didn’t have time to read through all the comments, in case u already addressed this.. I love monarchs & have milkweed growing, bit now my neighbors are interested, so I want them to have successful plants!

Hello Julie from your Minnesota neighbor! It’s best to separate seeds when you are harvesting but you can still get the job done indoors without making a mess. I just added #7 to this list which should work for your situation:

Hi Clifton, I’m not sure where you’re located. if you’re in a warm region with a continuous growing season (and year round monarchs) you can always stagger your cuttings so that some milkweed is always available for monarch visitors.

Hello Tony. Quick question ? How can I get my cut milkweeds to stay fresh longer. I cut @ a 40% angle and put in a fresh canning jar filled with water. Some get so wilted I have to throw out. Luckily we have an abundance of milkweeds. I’ve been doing this on & off for over 40 years. Milkweeds are so temperamental after being cut ? Any info is much appreciated. Thanks again !!! 🐛

Some of my common milkweed plant leaves are cupping, and some are coming out deformed. I have not been able to find out what is happening. I keep them watered. There are aphids and a few milkweed bugs, but not necessarily on the affected plants. What could be the problem, and is it harmful to the monarchs?

This has not been a good year for my milkweed. They are all yellowed and feel parched. It has been a very hot and dry summer here in Garden City MI ( suburb of Detroit), but I have been watering regularly. I’m not sure what I should do. I have not seen one monarch only a couple of swallowtails. It is a sad season for me. What would be the best as far as light for the milkweed?

By the way thank you for doing this newsletter. It is so appreciated.
Thank you
Theresa

Hi Theresa, it has been a very slow season for most of the eastern US. If you have been watering regularly and the leaves are turning yellow, overwatering could be the issue.

Most milkweed can be grown in sun to partial shade. The best way to find out what works in your region is try planting the same milkweed species in different microclimates of your garden and see what conditions it prefers.

Hi Tony,
I potted two Tropical Milkweed plants a year ago in the spring into huge pots which I overwintered in my garage with grow lights. Aside from the aphids finding them, they appeared healthy when I moved the pots outside this spring. I had cut the plants back to about 2 feet high in the spring. They have had full healthy growth and bloomed. However, I have noticed that there are a few deformed leaves and some splotchy in color. I know from last spring that even in pots if we had a lot of rain that some leaves would turn yellow and fall off. The splotchy leaves are turning yellow at the center along the spine of the leaf. I have had a lot of insects this year being in Tulsa, Oklahoma and have had some Milkweed beetles on them which I have removed. My concern is that these two potted and overwintered plants even with some healthy looking leaves may not be suitable for eggs or cats. I really can’t remember if I had the same splotchy leaf issue last year. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Looking for a suggestion to manage my milkweed. To raise generation 4, someone has to raise 1-3.. Gen 1-3 seems to take all my milkweed. The milkweed I don’t use, needs to be cutback, since it looks so poor, tall few leaves. The other situation with using cuttings from my outside plants, plants start to come back but get eaten right away by the next generation and never give the plant a chance to grow.
Seems like one needs to protect the milkweed when its trying to come back, which seems to take about 2 months time in the summer in Florida.

Hi Don, these are common problems for continuous growing regions like Florida and California. Covering plants with netting or having protect enclosures to grow them seem like good options to consider. Good luck!

We are having great success in fact too much with monarch eggs and cats. We can’t keep them fed!! I just bought yet another new plant and more baby cats and eggs than I can count. We live in gulf breeze Florida. We have probably taken over 50 cats to our local butterfly house because we ran out of milkweed. They strip a plant each day. Even out seedlings we are trying to grow. We out today and found nubs. It is fun but frustrating.

Hi Tony,
I was saddened to see so few Monarchs this year, in Michigan (Ypsilanti area). Last year, I released 209 Monarchs and was looking forward to another good year.
So far this year (2016), I released 16 beautiful healthy Monarchs during the last week of July. I have all kinds of lovely milkweed (Common, Tropical, Balloon, poke, and butterfly weed), They are looking good except for some of the butterfly weed. I had a wonderful surprise today, of all days, August 6. I was able to see a Monarch spend a couple of hours laying eggs, in all places in the gardens around my yard. I was fortunate to find 32 eggs. I was so excited to finally get back into raising and releasing. I really like using the stem cutting method, in floral tubes, for feeding the caterpillars. It works great! Thank you for the tip. You are the best!
Oh, I am not too fond of the balloon milkweed. The leaves are so narrow that it makes it hard to find the eggs on them, especially when the plant grows so tall. Any thoughts on this?
Have a great Butterfly season.
Daisy

Hi Daisy, congrats on all your eggs! It sounds like you have plenty of fresh milkweed waiting for them. Balloon plant is not one of my preferred species for raising, but if your other milkweed has faded, it stays viable through the fall. I will continue to feed ours common, swamp, and tropical since they’re all in good shape.

I am sticking to the common and tropical milkweed for feeding too. This is the first year that I tried the balloon milkweed and will not be planting that one again. I have plenty of common and tropical to sustain my monarchs, thank goodness.
Thank you, Tony, for all your help and for sharing your experiences. Now I need to find more eggs, saw a Monarch flying around the gardens again this morning….it will be a happy day.
Daisy

Hi Tony,
I live in Wisconsin, near Madison. This is my first summer raising Monarchs. I did order a dozen cats from a website (eggs laid July 2), but found about a dozen eggs myself soon after. All but 6 butterflies were released at the end of July. Five will be turning into butterflies in the next few days and one will be in a “J” soon. Will these butterflies go to Mexico or die here? Reading your latest email, I didn’t realized I should be looking for “migration” Monarch eggs- I’m still a bit confused on the life cycle of these amazing critters!

Hi Sandi, they take environmental cues for migration including amount of daylight and temperature. It’s probable the chrysalises you have now will be the parents of the migratory generation. In Minnesota, I typically see mating through the end of August. Good luck with your butterflies!

Hi Tony,
I have a follow up question regarding the life cycle of Monarchs-What happens to the butterflies that I release at the end of July-Do they stay close to my house and fly south in the fall? Do they lay eggs here and then die? How long does a butterfly live? I’m still learning!!

Hi Sandi, monarch watch recently started doing digital tagging with monarchs…this should give us more info about the behavior of the non-migratory monarchs…much is still a mystery. Starting in mid-late July we have a growing population of monarchs that live in our yard/garden, so it’s definitely possible some stay in your area. They will live for a few weeks.

Hi Tony,
My monarchs came a little early this year, which is good but my milkweed is already starting to decay(black spots and yellow leaves dying off). This happens every year and I thought it was just the short life cycle of the plant, but it’s happening earlier this year. Do you think it’s a fungus and what can I do about it to save this years milkweed crop? I’ve got common, swamp and tropical. Common looks the worst and I do have cats on the plants now. Lastly can I feed the plants with miracle gro even though there are cats on them?

Hi Jan, it’s usually more effect to cut back native milkweed earlier in the season. Tropical milkweed can be cut back any time because it grows back quickly. Monarchs typically opt for laying eggs on seedlings and fresh regrowth, but they’ll also lay on pods in the coming weeks. good luck!

Hi Tony,
My monarchs came a little early this year, which is good but my milkweed is already starting to decay(black spots and yellow leaves dying off). This happens every year and I thought it was just the short life cycle of the plant, but it’s happening earlier this year. Do you think it’s a fungus and what can I do about it to save this years milkweed crop? I’ve got common, swamp and tropical. Common looks the worst and I do have cats on the plants now. Lastly can I feed the plants with miracle gro even though there are cats on them?

Hi Sue, miracle gro won’t hurt caterpillars, but not sure how much it will help fading common milkweed. Typically, we use more swamp and tropical for raising migration generation monarchs. Here’s more info on milkweed disease:

Great info and links Tony! I have tropical and swamp mixed in with the common and hoped the fertilizer would give it a boost, since the common looks so bad! How do I know if the death of the common is the time of year for it to die, or if it’s a fungus? It’s been looking sickly for several weeks now.

Hi Sue, if you want to use common milkweed later in the season, it’s best to cut it back early (right after it flowers). Other species like swamp mw and tropical mw have viable leaves later in the season, and are better options to feed migration generation caterpillars.

Hi Tony, How necessary is it to bleach milkweed leaves? I’ve started doing it on common milkweed with the thick leaves with no problems. Is it safe to bleach thinner leaved milkweed like red or tropical? Also, how do you keep tropical and red milkweed from wilting in the refrigerator? I use ziploc bags, but the bags seem to generate a lot of moisture.

Hi Suzie, I don’t bleach milkweed…just rinse it with water. I put extra milkweed leaves in ziploc bags (after rinsing) and the excess moisture has not been an issue. If I store milkweed in the refrigerator, it gets used within a couple weeks. If you have an ample supply of milkweed, you don’t need to store the leaves.

I have a wonderful Hayfield that has common milkweed growing in it. The monarchs have been laying eggs this week. However, the field is scheduled to be cut in 6 days. Do you recommend cutting entire stalks of milkweed? Or should I work on harvesting eggs/cats? I have not raised indoors before. Thanks for your help,

Hi Tony – Thanks for this site – it’s so helpful! I live in Upstate NY and have an “accidental” milkweed garden. (i.e. a bunch of milkweed started growing in one of my garden beds and I just left it there.) I don’t know if we’ll get any Monarchs – but I wanted to leave it for them rather than pulling it all out. My question is about removing the seed pods. Since this is a pretty invasive plant (I’m finding new plants in unwanted locations) can I safely remove the seed pods before they dry out and spilt open, spreading seed in my whole yard? And by safely I mean without harming any potential butterflies or the plant itself? I don’t know the variety as it was a volunteer in my yard, but I’m guessing it’s common milkweed. Thanks!
Laura

Hi Laura, you can certainly cut off pods prematurely if you don’t want them to seed. The plants will be fine. Keep in mind, common milkweed still spread through underground rhizomes…removing seed pods will make a difference though:

Hi Tony,
My husband and I started to raise monarchs this year. We spotted the first caterpillars at the end of March in San Diego, CA.
Since then, it has been an indescribable experience to see the beautiful transformation.
At a point around June we had over 30 instar 4 and 5, and were able to identified around 10 chrysalis in our backyard.
Some of these were however attacked and did not make it.
After a month of no eggs, last Monday I spotted around 30 eggs in my milkweed and decided to bring some with me and raise them indoors.
I collected 3 cats, instar 1-2 and collected around 8-9 eggs.
Mother nature can be brutal! Sadly I have spotted wasps eating my caterpillars, among other predators.
Do you recommend us to bring all eggs we spot indoors? I was trying to give them a chance to grow outdoors but lady bugs are constant visitors
on my milkweeds.
I love your posts, recommendations and the website in general. It has been of a great help for amateur monarch lovers like us.
Thanks 🙂

Hello Blanca, congrats on a successful first year raising monarchs. Sorry you are learning about the predators too…they can be relentless! You can’t (and shouldn’t) save all the monarchs in your garden if you want to promote a healthy ecosystem and keep your sanity. Raise a few and raise them well…and don’t look for monarchs when you don’t want to bring more in. Good luck!

Thank you for this great movement to raise the monarch population. I look forward to each email and all the invaluable advice. My first monarchs visited my Charleston, WV garden last Sunday. Today I have 28 tiny cats in their “hatcheries”. We are traveling to the mountains today and I am going to be taking these little guys with me as they do need attention.

Science
Jan 13, 2015 – Tropical milkweed is pretty, easy to grow, and monarchs love it. “If I were a gardener, I would have done the same thing,” says Dara Satterfield, … turns out that year-round tropical milkweed presents an even more direct threat to the butterflies. Milkweed hosts a protozoan parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE). As caterpillars, monarchs ingest the parasite along with their normal milkweed meals, and when they hatch from their chrysalises they are covered in spores. “It’s a debilitating parasite,” Satterfield says. Infected monarchs are much weaker than their healthy counterparts and don’t live nearly as long. In fact, if an OE-infected monarch tries to migrate, it will probably die long before it arrives in central Mexico, Satterfield says.

I have 11 second/third instar cats that i brought in as eggs right now and im afraid of running out of milkweed as they are starting to consume quickly. I have eight or nine 4ft. Plants will this be enough? Will they eat the stalks if need be? Or should i try to get more plants?

I’ve been driving along the street finding common milkweed and snatching the clean stuff up and leave in mind intact. I have been fortunate enough to find a lot of Little Gems eggs teeny caterpillars and I found a large caterpillar today

I collected three leaves with an egg on each leaf. The leaves are virtually dad even though I have stretch them lightly with water and kept the Stamms and wet Kleenex. What do I do now? The egg still look healthy. I collected the eggs immediately after the female lead them. It’s been 10 days. We keep our house at 67°. What do I do now?

Hi Catherine, 67° F is too cold and slowing down metamorphosis…eggs generally hatch in 4-6 days. Do you have a room in your house or a porch that’s warmer? 75 to 90 would be a much better environment…I will be posting more on this next week.

Have been trying to get milkweed plants for 4 or 5 years now, tried starting the plants from seed, didn’t work. This year I purchased four plants at $15.00 each and they have survived in a garden bed. Actually I’m very pleased. They won’t do anything this growing season, but I’m hoping next year. My son has wonderful plants and also the Monarchs arriving. It took several years for the plants to get large enough to interest the Monarchs. I find the articles a little confusing. Are people sending you the eggs? I plan on hopefully have the Mothers lay eggs and letting Mother Nature take her course. I’m in Cape Breton Island, Canada. Our season is short compared to the U.S.

Hi Sandy, I don’t sell eggs/caterpillars but link to vendors that do for those who don’t have established gardens, just aren’t seeing monarchs, school teachers, or those that need them for specific events. Yes, getting them to come to your garden is the ultimate goal for most, and oh, so satisfying…good luck!

Question re: milkweed. Is there a way to prevent or partially prevent the rust colored bumps/spots on the underside of leaves of milkweed? I have it on swamp mw, tropical, prairie. The common of course by this time of season is large and tough even though I have cut it down it does have some decent looking shoots. I have 5 plots of mw in different places. Having a hard time finding any decent looking leaves from the swamp ones to feed the cats. The tropical is almost as bad. Have cut them back and only the shoots are okay looking but the leaves are small there. I have one balloon mw but it hasn’t grown very fast and I had a hard time starting it indoors in early spring. It looks okay but would only support one cat at its size. I usually water from below but sometimes with sprinker. When do so, I do it in early morning so plants have chance to dry off. Had a lot of aphids earlier but now mostly black gritty type things on stems/leaves that I’ve heard is aphid mummies or mw weavel. They (the used to be bugs) are dead. I live in Northern Indiana. Any suggestions appreciated.
Pam

Hi Pam, sorry to hear your milkweed is taking a beating this season…do you have any seedlings coming up in the garden, those might be your best option…tropical milkweed grows back pretty quickly, but cutting back mid July would have been a better idea…you still have a chance to receive eggs, but a better chance with some fresh milkweed. If you get a few eggs on your balloon plant, you can still use other milkweed to feed your caterpillars…good luck!

My milkweed this year is pitiful. My swamp is dry and purple, my tropical won’t grow and the balloon mw is slow growing too. Common was great and I’m still salvaging some from cutting it back but new growth is mottled green and yellow. I’ve always had great luck with tropical milkweeds but I don’t know what happened this year. I noticed also that egg laying was mostly on common mw which usually isn’t the case for me.

Yesterday I released our fifth Monarch butterfly. Two females and three males. I put the butterfly on my wife’s geraniums A short time later I check on it and found a 20″ garter snake within five inches of the butterfly. I wasn’t sure whether the snake would bother it but to be safe I removed the snake from the garden. We have two chrysalides and one cat left. I still check every morning for eggs and cats.

Monarchs were very slow to appear early this year. But now they are everywhere! So many eggs we had to stop collecting them for now, 35+! It’s amazing to see … we now notice mw plants being left in flower/shrub gardens everywhere we go-restaurants, stores, etc. And now,
here in western NY anyways, they all seem to have eggs and or cats. We keep a container in the car! I think we are all getting the word out.
Just a thought though… has anyone ever looked into what effect it may have if we shifted the natarual balance of butterflies by a very large amount on their own ecosystem?

Michelle,
I don’t have a good answer for you on the aphid eggs. Either physically remove them or cut that portion of the plant off. They’ve been tough this year, indeed. Just remember to fight the urge to spray them with insecticide!
Keep up the good work!

The opposite happened here in Ohio. Monarchs came 5 weeks earlier than usual. I’ve released over 300 Monarchs this summer. I guess the major egg laying was earlier because I haven’t found any eggs lately and usually now is the time. It’s been a weird year.

I am on my second mass monarch egg batch. My first batch of 25 have been emerging from their chrysilids all week. This second round, all the eggs (30) were found on potted plants that I have scattered throughout my yard away from my main plots. This is definitely the way to go! Hope every else is doing as good as we are here in Michigan!

I’m up to 25 healthy releases so far in August. Finding a few eggs each day. Mostly on one particular swamp MW plant. What I plan on doing differently next year (5th year raising) is not to start ALL my tropical plants in April. By this time in August, they have seen better days. I will stagger early seed starting next year. And also to plant as many as I can in the ground instead of pots. The In ground plants look MUCH better than the potted plants. One thing I will whisper…..no aphids…..this year. Don’t ask me what I did right, but after fighting them year after year this is a big deal. I have my Monarch Watch tags at the ready…..I love this hobby. Thanks Tony for all you do.

Hi Dorothy, congrats on no aphids! As your butterfly garden evolves, it naturally attracting more aphid predators, and this can be the glorious result. Yes, having seedlings this time of the year is good for attracting eggs…we have swamp and tropical coming up in our raise bed trails and I expect there will be more than a few eggs on these in the next couple weeks…if you don’t have natural seeding, starting some later is a good idea.

Hi Tony. I’ve just found your site and am so grateful. Need your guidance! I’ve been raising Eastern Black Swallowtails the past few years. I happened to pick up a few Butterfly weed plants in the Spring and planted them in a large pot on my deck. not realizing this was actually Milkweed.
One morning I noticed what appeared to be a Monarch spending alot of time near tbe plant. Sure enough, eventually I had about 20 cats. Since then I’ve been doing battle with lizards, grasshoppers and birds.
Have moved those thst are left to a few terrariums and now have 7 chrysalis. But my Milkweed plants are mostly shot. I do have seedlings growing but what happens if these babies hatch and lay more eggs? Worried there won’t be enough food for them. Have looked everywhere for viable plants – none. What should I do? Thanks for this site!

Hi Phyllis, when you don’t have enough milkweed to support monarchs, it’s a good idea to concentrate on growing milkweed. Some gardeners even cover plants with netting so the females can’t lay eggs…they can fly many miles and will be able to find milkweed elsewhere while you are getting your garden prepared…

If you can’t find plants/seeds locally, there are viable online options that will ship to your door:

I have a Cope’s gray tree frog living in the patch of common milkweed. Should I relocate him or is he eating monarch predators. There is a picture of this frog on what appears to be a milkweed leaf in last month’ Mn Conservation Volunteer inside the front cover.

This is my 3rd year at trying to raise Monarchs. I learned a great deal but my success rate is abysmal. This year the worst and I’ve seen everything. I have lots of common & swamp milkweed that I cut back in early July to be fresh. Central PA saw more rain this summer so it all was fresh and green. Since mid-July, I took in cats of all sizes as well as eggs. Milkweed molded easily in containers (laid with dry paper towel completely dried) which in turn new cats molded even overnight. So I started making mesh lids. Then cats died, fell off leaves, vomiting green so I started bleaching leaves (1:19 ratio) & drying & refrigerating. Even afterward, cats spew green and die. I had several J-ing cats go straight and ooze brown; now I see strings which I know are tachinid fly. I’m ready to quit but thought I’d throw this comment out first to solicit any advice. I have successfully raised several kinds of swallowtails (overwintered 50 last winter, 40 which were successful releases this spring). But Monarchs need help the most. Should I get my soil tested?

Hi Kendra, sorry to hear of your raising woes…if you utilize the tips in ‘raise the migration’ and start with eggs, you will see more success. If you’re not signed up to receive the free raising emails, you can sign up here…post any questions relevant to that specific page:

Hi
I enjoy your website very much ! Been saving Monarchs 5 years. I currently have 11 chrysales, 37 cats and 17 eggs. Most of the eggs are on dead milkweed leaves but I’ve kept them ..hoping. Will they ever make a baby cat ?